Rhythm of the War Drums
by Shattered Crowns
Summary: Allen Walker was known as the Destroyer of Time. He was a mad puppet with some unknown force pulling his strings. He was God's Clown, but that never stopped him. He always kept a smile on his face, he always kept walking no matter how hard things got. Now, it's getting harder to smile, harder to keep walking. What happens when he no longer smile? When he can no longer keep walking?
1. Chapter 1

**A.N**

_This is my take on what happened after Allen ran away from the Order. It takes place near the last chapters end. A big thank you to Liza for being my wonderful beta._

**_DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY. _**

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Rhythm of the War Drums

White. Everywhere he looked, there was white. Everything was just so…pure. Except for him. He wasn't pure. He was tainted. His mind and body were tainted. His body was at war with his mind. His Innocence was at war with the Noah in him. Allen Walker…the Destroyer of Time. Everything he touched was doomed to a fate of oblivion. Even himself. Exiled and lost, Allen Walker had nothing left. Those he called his friends were meant to be against him. Those who called him family had blood staining their hands. He was doomed to a fate as a wanderer. That was his life now. After all, he had promised his foster father that he would never stop, that he would keep walking. So that's what he did. He walked until his feet bled.

Allen Walker was truly God's Clown. Pure white hair covered his silver eyes and luckily hid his grotesque mark that rested over his left eye. An upside pentacle that trailed down to hook on his cheek, with a line running parallel to his eye, giving him a distrustful look. Who would want to trust their life to someone who looked like him? To add more to his appearance, his left arm was a smooth black, while his hand was deep black with a green cross imbedded in his hand. Further up his arm, the arm was normal, with a black band. Up where the shoulder and arm joined, a circular tattoo with arrow pointing outwards. Luckily, that was the end of his physical deformity.

According to Neah, Allen had become nothing but a mad puppet. His strings were being pulled by some unseen force, a force that took great pleasure out of torturing him. He was nothing but a puppet, playing his part.

Allen had been so lost in his thoughts that he was unaware of his surroundings. The only thing that pulled him out of his mind was the brief flash of pain that was followed by the sound of gears spinning. Allen tensed his body and looked around, searching for the Akuma that activated his eye. Finally, his silver right eye and his now black with a red target in it left eye landed on what it searched for.

"_Innocence, Activate!" _Allen yelled as a bright flash of light lit up the street. When the light faded, it revealed Allen with a white cloak resting on his shoulder. Resting on the hood of the cloak was a gray masquerade mask. Allen's once black arm was now a large claw with a crown laid on his wrist. Running up to the Level 3 Akuma, Allen jumped at the enemy, running his claws through the Akuma. Landing in a crouch, the white-haired male turned his head. Standing less than 100 feet away stood the Noah of Dreams, Road.

The child-like Noah giggled before she ran at Allen, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Allen-kun!" She yelled happily. The Noah of Dreams may have a child-like appearance but Allen knew better than to think that she was a child. In reality, she was the oldest Noah besides the Earl. They were the only two that had survived Neah's attack. "Road, please release me." Allen commanded softly. Road pouted but complied with Allen's request. "Allen-kun, can we go home together this time?" She questioned, ignoring the sigh that escaped from Allen. "You know the answer. It won't change, so stop asking. I'm Allen Walker, an exorcist! I will die before I become anything else!" The white-haired male yelled to Road.

Expecting this answer, Road shrugged and vanished from view. In her wake, she left behind several Level 3 Akuma. Eyeing them, Allen stood and a sad smile spread on his lips. Within the blink of an eye, Allen was on top of one of the Akuma and slashed their chest. As the Akuma exploded into dust, Allen angled his body towards the Akuma. "_Crown Edge!" _ The exorcist yelled as a barrage of crown-shaped rings flew from the claws of Crown Clown.

Once all the Akuma were disposed of, Allen deactivated his Innocence and glanced around the town. In his wake, several buildings were destroyed or damaged. "I guess Kanda was right. I'm no savior. I'm a destroyer." Allen whispered to himself as he turned around and kept walking forward, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head.

Allen hated nights like this. When he woke up, he felt as if he wasn't in control of his own body. Most likely, he wasn't. He had fought with Neah over control of his body and finally, the 14th Noah gave into his request. "_**Don't be that way, dear nephew. I only wanted to play." **_Neah defended himself from within Allen's thoughts. "Last time I let you play, I woke up covered in blood and the town were staying in was in ruins. I was counting the bodies like sheep in a field." The white-haired exorcist snapped, talking aloud.

Feeling Neah withdraw deeper in his mind, Allen allowed himself to relax. His mind wandered to his friends. What were they doing? Lenalee would most likely be handing coffee to Koumi, one of her smiles present on her face. Lavi would be with Bookman, reading some books. Kanda would be in the training room, meditating with Mugen resting beside him. Timothy would be running around on those rollerblades of his, denying how much he missed Allen if anyone asked him. Reever would be in Koumi's office, threatening and/or coxing Koumi to do his paperwork. Johnny would invest himself in his work, trying to not let his mind wander to Allen.

Shaking his head, Allen tried to kill the thoughts that plagued him. The Order was meant to be his enemy, regardless of the memories he had there. Allen was and will be a wanderer. Just himself and the voice inside his head. Even though he was no longer part of the Order, he will continue fighting in the war. He had lost too much to not fight.

In the end, it would be Allen against the Millennium Earl. He wasn't sure on the details though. Would he have succumbed to Neah? Would Neah be willing to go up against Adam once again? Would Neah be on his side, willing to lend his power? All of those questions kept Allen up at night and he refused to listen when Neah tried to convince that he will be on his side. Neah had already taken forceful control of his body and that experience wasn't pleasant.

In the end, he gave up on thinking about the future. Pushing himself off the bed, Allen walked out of the room and to the dining room. Ordering as much food as he wanted was a luxury Allen no longer had. Now, he had to order an average sized amount, eat it, then go to another place and repeat the process. He wished at moments like these that he was back at the Order, eating around the table with his friends. At a moment like these, he hated his uncle, Neah. However, Allen knew that it wasn't truly Neah's fault. It was his. He was the one who accepted Neah 35 years ago, regardless of not remembering this. He was to blame for everything.

Allen Walker was truly nothing more than God's Clown. He was truly a mad puppet, with some unknown presence pulling his strings. He was nothing more than… "Allen…?" A voice rang out, the voice familiar to him. It was someone he had left behind in the Order. "Allen… is that really you?" The voice asked, a wide range of emotions rang from the voice.

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_That's the first chapter! If you loved it or even if you hated it, leave a review. Any questions or comments, you can either leave a review and I'll answer it in the next chapter or you can send me a PM. Anyways, thanks for reading. _

_Review and Rate!_

_-Shattered Crowns_


	2. Chapter 2

_A.N: Thank you to everyone who gave reviews, follows and favorites! It really means a lot to me. Anyways, thanks again to Liza before being my amazing beta._

**_DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS._**

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Ch.2

Allen's eyes widened in surprise. Why were they here? They shouldn't be here. They couldn't be here, not when he was quickly losing control over Neah. Neah sensed his discomfort and tried to push for control over Allen's body. Silver eyes glanced at purple just before Allen turned to run away.

He knew that it was useless to run against someone who spent their whole life running. She was the fastest person in the Order and Allen knew that he would soon be caught unless he did something. Spotting a large crowd, Allen ran into the middle of it and stripped off his jacket and effortlessly swiping some unfortunate man's hat. In a semi-disguise, Allen blended in with the crowd. He watched Lenalee run past him with a breath suck in his throat.

"_**Is that any way to treat a lady?" **_Neah berated from Allen's mind. Allen sighed and slowly left the crowd, his eyes constantly searching for the familiar Order uniform. "I think it's time we left this town. Where should we go?" Allen thought aloud, running a hand through his shoulder length hair. He should see about getting that cut.

The next night, Allen woke up when the train suddenly stopped on the tracks. "What is happening?" He questioned a nearby passenger who simply shrugged. Suppressing a sigh, Allen walked up the train. A thumping from his pocket halted his movements. Confused, Allen opened his pocket only to get attacked by a golden blur. "Timcanpy!" Allen yelled happily, reaching up to grab the golem that was currently biting his cheek.

"I've missed you, Tim!" Allen cried, snuggling the golden golem. In response, Tim simply bit his cheek again. "As much as I want to play with you right now Tim, I have to go check on what happened." The white-haired male shrugged and continued his journey to the conductor's cabin. Knocking politely on the door, Allen smiled reassuringly. "Hello. I wanted to see what happened and if there was anything I could to help." The conductor was taken back and blinked a few times before regaining his bearing.

"Ah, there are some odd creatures walking on the tracks." The conductor explained to the former exorcist. Allen was just about to reply when his left eye activated. Giving a smile to the surprised and terrified conductor, the clown ran towards the nearest window and threw himself out of it. "50 level ones and 20 level twos." Allen commented, already in the process of transmuting his left arm into the Sword of Exorcism. The familiar comfort that Crown Clown provided whenever it was activated ran through Allen's body.

Sprinting towards the mass of Akuma, Allen began to swing his sword. Sidestepping out of the way of a bullet, Allen laughed, his eyes flashing gold for a brief second. Swinging his sword in a wide arch, Allen quickly killed at least half of the Akuma. "Is that all you've got, Earl? I would have liked to play some more~!" Allen taunted, his voice a mixture of his and Neah's. Silver eyes turned gold as Neah painfully took control of Allen's body. "_I wanna play some more, Adam!" _Neah yelled happily, cutting down Akuma. While Allen was careful to not get hit by the bullets, Neah didn't even care. Once a bullet hit, Neah quickly killed the Akuma that sent it.

Once all the Akuma were defeated, Allen forcefully regained control of his own body. "_Ark open!" _The duo ordered a white portal opening beneath Allen's feet. Falling in, Allen sighed. "Ark Arda!" The former exorcist ordered the White Ark that was now in his control. Even though Allen promised to not use the Ark anymore, he realized that he couldn't just stop. If he closed the gates that he opened, the Order would never know that he was still using.

Since he was the conductor of the Ark, he knew who was in it and when they left or arrived. This knowledge made it much easier for him to use the Ark. If he used when no one was around, there was no risk of someone spotting him. Walking through the white town, Allen made his way to the piano room. Lying down on the couch inside, Allen rubbed his eyes. "_Neah…I don't know how much longer I can hold you back." _Allen thought to himself, closing his eyes.

Allen's dreams were plagued by bits and pieces of his old life. His life when he agreed to be Neah's host. "_It will be fine, Neah. I'll keep you until you are better." Allen's voice encouraged the dying Noah. Neah gave Allen and Mana a faint smile before transferring his being into Allen. Then, the Noah stopped breathing. _

A yell erupted from Allen's throat. "Why?!" He screamed loudly at himself. Inside his mind, Neah jolted awake. "_**Allen? Are you okay?" **_The Noah asked his nephew. "Fuck off, Neah. I'm not okay. I'm in the middle of a holy war with a Noah residing in me. The one place I thought of home is now against me. The one person I saw as a parent only cared for me because I was your host! All of this is your fault! If you hadn't died, I wouldn't be in this situation! I just wanted to live a normal life! One with a family and parents that loved me! That will never happen because of all of this. My Innocence is slowly killing me. Either way, I'll be dying at a young age. It could be at your hand or it could be from the Innocence!" Allen screamed aloud at the Noah that resided within him.

The screaming fit surprised Neah. It was coming from Allen, the boy who was a complete gentleman. Allen Walker, the boy who would gladly give up his own life if that meant that his friend's would have a chance at living a normal one. It was as if the boy had undergone a personality change while he was sleeping.

"_**Allen, calm down please." **_Neah pleaded with his host. "Shut up, Neah!" Allen cried, his hands clutching his hair. Neah gently pushed his way to take control of Allen. Once he was in full control, he grabbed the piano stool and moved it to the window. Sitting down, he cocked his head to the side. "_**Allen, look at the window. That's us. We are one body, two souls. However, I can still feel whatever you feel and you can feel whatever I feel. I know you don't like the situation, but you have to remember what Mana always said. Don't stop. Keep walking. I know you feel like this isn't your path, but it is." **_Neah attempted to reassure his nephew, who he felt calming down.

Looking in the mirror, he saw his reflection mixed in with Allen's. They were so similar yet so different. They were opposite's sides of the same coin. Allen was light while Neah was dark. Somehow, they worked together though. They both realized that they had no one else in the world expect each other. Allen and Neah Walker, both alone in this world, both outsiders. They were within yet they were also without. Slowly, Neah let Allen take control again. "_**He would be proud of you." **_Neah said softly, before retreating to the back of Allen's mind.

Long after Allen's episode, the white-haired male left the piano room and aimlessly walked around the Ark. He made his way up the tower and sat on the edge of the tall building, his feet hanging. From up here, he could see the very few exorcists walked to the gate they needed for their mission. Allen spotted Timothy and smiled at the boy, even though the small boy couldn't see him. Timothy reminded Allen of himself before he met Mana. The clown regretted that he wouldn't get to see Timothy grow older. He knew that Timothy quickly formed an attachment to him, seeing him as a big brother.

A curling sensation on his neck reminded Allen of Timcanpy's presence. Timcanpy wanted to fly down to his old friends and bite their cheeks. Sighing, Allen smiled. "Go ahead, Tim. Go say hi." The golem quickly unwound himself from Allen's neck and flew down to Timothy, knocking into him. Allen could see Timothy's smile and he could also see him wipe his face to get rid of the stray tears. Timothy knew that Timcanpy belonged to Allen and Allen alone. If Timcanpy was okay, then so was Allen.

The former exorcist pushed himself up and moved away from the edge of the tower. "Where to now?" He mused. Walking around the center of the tower, Allen lost himself in his thoughts. _**"We could just get on a train and stop in an unknown place." **_Neah suggested to Allen. The puppet bit his lip and shrugged. "I guess we could do that…" Turning around, Allen made his way down the tower and to a random gate. Walking through it, Allen ignored everyone that was around him and made his way straight to the train station. "One ticket for the next train, please." Allen flashed the lady who was working his usual smile and chuckled under his breath when she blushed and stuttered out a reply.

Boarding the train, Allen thought he heard someone call out his name. Turning his head, he spotted a male with dark navy blue hair. Quickly pushing himself inside the train, Allen took a deep calming breath. There was no way that he caught the train in time. Allen himself barely caught the train in time. Assuming that the man never made it onto the train, the former exorcist slowly walked to the back of the train. Humming a song under his breath, the white-haired male sat down on the farthest seat, all the way in the back.

Eventually, Allen slowly fell asleep as the train rocked him back and forth. In his mind, Neah was wide awake. Seeing as Allen needed the rest but Neah wanted to move around, the Noah made a rash decision. He took control of Allen's body and pushed himself out of the seat. Walking up the train, Neah observed everyone in the train. Luckily, Allen's eye never went off so they were safe for the time being.

As Neah walked around the train, Allen was getting restless in his dream sleep. Frowning, Neah turned around and walked back to their seat. _**"Allen, are you okay?" **_Neah questioned softly, not really wanting to disturb the sleeping soul. Neah didn't want to go through another episode, like yesterday. The sleeping soul stayed silent and Neah sighed. He didn't know what was setting Allen on edge. It could be a variety of things. "_Last stop on the line. Please depart now." _The conductor said over the intercom, which inclined Neah to stand up. Grabbing what little baggage they had, the 14th Noah followed the other few people who had stops here.

Just as Neah stepped off the train, Allen's cursed eye activated. That alone was enough to ruse the sleeping soul awake. Neah peacefully let Allen take control as the exorcist looked around, trying to spot the Akuma. "Don't worry Akuma, I will save your suffering soul." Allen promised just before he invoked Crown Clown. Once the mask slid over Allen's face, the poor Akuma knew it was game over for him.

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_A.N: Anyways, thats the chapter! I was thinking about either updating every Saturday or every other Saturday. I tried to make the chapter a little bit longer but expect longer chapters in the future!_

_If you loved it or even if you hated it, leave a review. Any questions or comments, you can either leave a review and I'll answer it in the next chapter or you can send me a PM. Anyways, thanks for reading._

_Review and Rate!_

_-Shattered Crowns_


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